1839.] lakes. 229 



gitude 143° 23' E., having previously received the waters of 

 the Lachlan. The Darling is a most singular stream ; its 

 waters being in some places brackish, then becoming sweet, 

 and, still further below, again impregnated with salt : it is 

 formed by the Gwydir, Dumaresq, and Castlereagh, all large 

 streams, and other affluents of considerable size, whose 

 sources are north of the Liverpool range ; it describes, in its 

 course, a curved line, upwards of one thousand miles long, 

 inclosing all the country west of the Blue mountains ; and, 

 being joined by the Macquarrie, finally unites with the Mur- 

 ray near the 142d meridian, in latitude 34° 7' S. 



After receiving the Darling, the Murray, which has al- 

 ready traversed over fifteen hundred miles from its remote 

 source in the Warragongs, continues on to Lake Alexan- 

 dria, which communicates by a narrow outlet with En- 

 counter Bay, — a further distance, inclusive of the numerous 

 windings, of fifteen hundred miles. Notwithstanding it has 

 so many tributary streams, this river loses so much of its 

 waters, like its affluents, by absorption and evaporation, 

 that it is neither wide enough nor deep enough to admit of 

 navigation ; and, in addition, its mouth is defended by a 

 double line of breakers, whose foam extends from one end of 

 the bay to the other. 



Lakes are abundant in Australia, but no very large ones 

 have so far been discovered. Lake Alexandrina is the largest, 

 and is fifty miles long and forty wide ; yet, it is so shallow, 

 in many places, that it cannot float even a boat. In 1828, 

 there was a fine sheet of water, called Lake George, seven- 

 teen miles long and seven miles wide, in 35° 5' southern lati- 

 tude, and longitude 149° 15' E.; but, in 1836, its site was 

 a grassy plain. All the lakes of the interior are subject to 

 the same variation. They abound, however, along the 

 courses of the rivers. The waters of some are sweet, of 

 others brackish. None of them have any outlet: a very few 

 are entirely isolated ; but the most are reservoirs for the re- 

 ception of the surplus waters of the neighboring streams, 

 with which thev communicate. 



